December 2006 Conditions Reports

29th December 2006
Very windy, warm and at times wet today. Matt took Katherine, Jill and Jill scrambling in Glen Nevis after a technical session indoors. They spent the rest of the morning and most of the afternoon looking at anchors, direct belays, moving together and lots of other technical stuff making good use of the day. Yesterday they were on Aonach Mor doing some core winter mountaineering skills just around the Nid Ridge where there is lots of snow. In fact Aonach Mor has more snow than usual in the back coires and there is some good climbing on the E Face. The Twins are a little thin but complete, Kevin climbed The Web yesterday and there are lots of good lines south of Easy Gully worth looking at. Today's thaw will have sorted out a few of the large cornices and it will refreeze well tomorrow with fresh snow down to 600m. So a good freeze thaw cycle that will produce more hard snow and ice on the routes.

28th December 2006

Today was a lovely day on Ben Nevis. Eric, Jenny and I enjoyed a cold start to the day with superb light while we walked in to Coire na Ciste. We had the choice of Glover's Chimney to Tower Gap, South Gully and the Central Gullies on Creag Coire na Ciste but went for Number Three Gully Buttress for a mix of ice, snow and rock all in the most spectacular position. Mike took Dara and Declan up Thompson's Route and other teams were out in Number Two and Number Three Gullies. Two Step Corner is still looking good and has a wee column of ice on the crux. It warmed up as forcast but stayed pretty dry. Very windy for the next few days and warm tomorrow but cooling down again a bit for Saturday.

27th December 2006
Mike, Dara and Declan went up Number Two Gully today expecting an ice pitch after the thaw just before Christmas. However it is quite full of snow and they found it to be steady away without too much of a cornice problem at the top. There are some large cornices around but they have fallen away with the warmer weather of the last couple few days. Mick reports that Smith's Route is in good shape which he saw on the way to climbing Gardyloo Gully.

26th December 2006
Tony sent in a report from Carrbridge - The last week has been a bit up and down for temps and a lot of snow has disappeared along with all the ice. However, the grade 1 climbs are still good and the snow pack is hard. In the last week I have soloed Alladins Couloir, and Jacobs Ladder in Coire an Sneachda, the Fiachaill Ridge and the Couloir in Coire Lochan. All in excellent condition and very quiet. The plateau edge is clear of snow and ice and the descent down the Fiachail a coire cas is like a summer descent - rocky.

24th December 2006
The clouds continued to clear and last night gave a slight frost at sea level although it might still be above freezing on the tops with a temperature inversion. When it freezes properly again there will be some superb neve to go and climb on and in the meantime we are forecast some dry weather over the holidays to enjoy some brisk Christmas post-dinner strolls. Happy Christmas!

23rd December 2006

We have had quite a lot of "consolidation"! There is very little snow left on Buachaille Etive Mor now and as it was dry and warm today Donald and Peter climbed Agag's Groove. It was a bit greasy and a little cool on the fingers but was a great choice for the day. The clouds did break as the day progressed and some sunshine got through later on.

22nd December 2006

Donald took Peter up Tower Ridge today and had fun despite the warm and wet weather. It was 11 celcius at sea level and well above freezing on the tops with gentle drizzle. Good consolidating weather!

21st December 2006

Another nice morning today but cloud and wind coming in with some drizzle this afternoon. Kenny, John and Donald had a look up Ben Nevis but found the rocks black and the ice dripping. They went for a wee adventure up The Castle and found some ice and lots of soggy snow! This is a great climb in a superb position, when you can see where you are!

20th December 2006

Many thanks to Craig for his pictures of climbing Dorsal Arete on Sunday. They had a fine day and enjoyed some really nice climbing. Yesterday Kenny and Henry climbed Slab Route on Ben Nevis and enjoyed it greatly. The slab holds a fair amount of snow but is predominantly climbed using the rock so a good choice for the day. Today has turned out well with some blue sky but the wind is picking up a bit.

19th December 2006

Today was cloudy and a bit soggy but still a very nice day. There was no frost due to the cloud and the freezing level was up at around the summit. We took our group from Welbeck College up Ledge Route on Ben Nevis and had a great time. The route is well covered with snow although we didn't need crampons at all due to the snow being soft and slightly wet. A quick walk got us to Number Four Gully where we saw Richard and Sam having just climbed Number Three Gully Buttress with excellent ice at the start. They also saw a lot of ice on Quickstep and Two Step Corner and saw a team climbing Green Gully yesterday although it was probably on hard snow and faith rather than good ice! A quick abseil of the cornice (which is very large) and a great bumslide got us into the coire and home! Cloudy and windy weather for a few days with the freezing level quite high will settle down the fresh snow.

18th December 2006

The west is definitely best! Today we went to the Cairngorms and found some hard frozen old patches of snow high in the coires with a little fresh snow on top. The west has much more of the fresh snow and the same or more of the old stuff. But the old crunchy snow was just what we were after to practice using crampons and start looking at snow anchors. A temperature inversion is starting to form but some of the buttresses were rimed slightly in the coires. Coire an Lochan looked best but Fiacaill Buttress was quite black. The ski area opened today for the summit runs and a very narrow strip down Coire Cas. Great weather and superb views to Ben Wyvis, Glen Affric hills and across the Murray Firth.

17th December 2006

Beautiful settled weather has arrived at last with a big high pressure system that will be with us for many days. Donald, Jaimie and I took a group from Welbeck College up to An Cearcallach, one of the tops of Creag Meagaidh. Sunshine and very little wind made for a glorious day. The snow line is at 500m and quite a lot has accumulated in E facing gullies and slopes higher up. There were several layers in the fresh snowpack and large soft cornices have formed over the last couple of days. The rocks at the summit (c. 900m) were rimed up but the turf is not frozen anywhere. We found a nice slope for some snowpack analysis and self arrest practice before climbing to the top and descending a lovely little gully with a great glissade! Perfect!

15th December 2006
The temperature has dropped a degree or two and we are getting snow down to 800m. Mercifully the wind has dropped slightly and should remain calm enough to let us get around the hills a bit. The temperature should also stay low enough for some action at the weekend.

14th December 2006

More very windy and wet weather over the last few days. Yesterday was particularly wet; we had a little flooding in Fort William and the Nevis was well over its banks and across the road near the Glen Nevis Restaurant. It was also warm so by this morning the patches of snow in the coires were a little smaller again. but today the temperature has dropped a degree or two and we are getting snow down to 800m. Mercifully the wind has dropped slightly and should remain calm enough to let us get around the hills a bit. The temperature should also stay low enough for some action at the weekend.

11th December 2006



Very heavy rain all day yesterday right up to the tops of the hills saturated the snowpack and washed away any thin covering. There are big areas of snow in the coires and gullies which will now be freezing solid as the temperature has dropped significantly this morning. A slight dusting of snow is sitting down to 600m and heavy showers are blowing through Lochaber heading for the Cairngorms. This kind of mixed (read "really nasty") weather is great for setting up the winter. A big fall of snow followed by dry conditions is not as good as rapid thaw freeze cycles and snow building up gradually. So ... fingers crossed for the winter. The pictures of this time last year and of 2003 are encouraging. We have more snow than last year and a little more than 2003.

9th December 2006

We've had two really quite nice days with some sunshine and fresh snow working its way down the hills again. Today it got down to about 600m on a few showers but the strong W wind was moving a fair amount of fresh snow from the tops onto E facing slopes so the gullies of Ben Nevis and Aonach Mor will be filling quite well. Matt and I headed slightly inland to Meall Coire Choile Rais near Creag Meagaidh. There are some well defined ribs on its E side that provide some nice easy climbing and mountaineering ground that is only visited by the deer usually! Looks like a thaw for the next few days with lots of rain and even more wind!

8th December 2006

7th December 2006
More wild and wet weather for the last few days has not been very enticing for getting out climbing. Tuesday was one of the better days with a slight drop in the temperature and fresh snow down to 900m on the west coast. Donald and Jamie headed east to the Cairngorms for slightly better weather although it was still very windy on the tops. The crags in Coire an t'Sneachda weren't very well rimed so they went for Pigmy Ridge which holds more snow and has no turf on it. No other teams were seen all day. Yesterday was cold and clear for a while with slightly higher pressure. Today, with the fresh snow down to 700m off heavy showers overnight, is still cold but more cloudy with rain. The cooler, mixed weather will stay with us for a while yet - if you are out and about expect some quite challenging conditions!

2nd December 2006
Thursday was one of the wettest days we've had for a while and with the freezing level above the tops a lot of snow was washed away. As a result, with some sunshine and river levels being exceptionally high, yesterday was a day for paddling. The Allt a'Mhuillin was in spate and not able to be crossed until high above the CIC Hut but there was a fresh fall of snow down to 1000m. Today the fresh snow line is down a little lower, more snow is forecast along with lots of wind and slightly cooler temperatures. The major gullies are still full and when the snow freezes it will be solid!